NO ITEMS

Familiar Things

Hwang Sok-yong
(trans. Sora Kim-Russell)

‘Five stars … Readers expecting this novel to develop into a savage take on Seoul slum life will be disappointed … [Hwang Sok-Yong] wants to tell a different story altogether. Familiar Things turns out to be less about simple disposal than movement between different worlds … resonant.’

The Daily Telegraph

‘Hwang Sok-yong is one of South Korea's foremost writers, a powerful voice for society's marginalised, and Sora Kim-Russell's translations never falter.’

Financial Times

The Economist

‘In Familiar Things, the great Korean writer embraces the social realities of his country. It is the opposite of the economic miracle that he paints for us here. Beyond simple naturalism, Hwang Sok-yong mixes into the actual, the magic of a popular culture steeped in the spiritual.’

LivresHebdo

‘A great political book, a plea for a country under the boot of a general, a country embroiled in a fierce power struggle, where ideology has been devoured by productivity, where human beings are nothing more than bellies to be filled for the benefit of industrial producers ... Grandma Willow in her dementia rails, “You're despicable! Do you think you live alone here? You men may all disappear, nature will continue to exist!” Let's hope so!’

Critiques Libres

‘Hwang Sok-yong is one of the most read Korean writers in his country, and best known abroad. An activist for democracy and reconciliation with the North, in his books he melds his political fights with the Korean cultural imagination.’

Le Monde

‘Familiar Things is a poignant novel that depicts decay and regeneration … A sense of menace pervades the novel. But the relationship that develops between Bugeye and Baldspot, who he comes to adopt as his younger brother, is heartwarming.’

The Big Issue

‘Hwang Sok-yong is an endearing author. For his perspective on people and things, for the instinctive modesty of his characters as well as his ability to “capture” — to return through fiction — the contemporary history of his country. Even more, to embody it.’

La Croix

‘Reality, fiction and fantasy mix closely, giving his writing unparalleled power. Hwang Sok-yong’s empathy for his heroes is always accompanied by a fierce rage against the powerful.’

Le Monde Diplomatique

‘While it invokes South Korean history, culture, mythology and folklore, this slim novel is unmistakably universal in its reach, contemporary in its appeal, and packs an emotional punch that reverberates long after reading.’

Terry Hong, Booklist

‘As one of the country’s most prominent novelists, Hwang has never shied away from controversy ... With Familiar Things, Hwang turns his attention to the underside of South Korea’s remarkable economic development, namely, the vast underclass it has created.’

John Feffer, Boston Review

‘Hwang’s writing is rich with symbolism, cautionary lessons, and the potential for redemption.’

World Literature Today

‘[A] cautionary tale, both a mirror and a portent for our own world.’

Fionn Mallon, Los Angeles Review of Books

‘Familiar Things walks a perfect path between realism and the supernatural.’

Annie Smith, A Bookish Type

‘Familiar Things is a fine little novel, showing a crushing, grim reality in which the resilient human spirit and imagination makes do.’

M.A.Orthofer, The Complete Review

Ellie Bamber, Stylist

‘A powerful examination of capitalism from one of South Korea’s most acclaimed authors … [Hwang] challenges us to look back and reevaluate the cost of modernisation, and see what and whom we have left behind.’

The Guardian

Seoul. On the outskirts of South Korea’s glittering metropolis is a place few people know about: a vast landfill site called Flower Island. Home to those driven from the city by poverty, is it here that 14-year-old Bugeye and his mother arrive, following his father’s internment in a government ‘re-education camp’.

Living in a shack and supporting himself by weeding recyclables out of the refuse, at first Bugeye’s life on Flower Island is hard. But then one night he notices mysterious lights around the landfill. And when the ancient spirits that still inhabit the island’s landscape reveal themselves to him, Bugeye's luck begins to change – but can it last?

Vibrant and enchanting, Familiar Things depicts a society on the edge of dizzying economic and social change, and is a haunting reminder to us all to be careful of what we throw away.

‘Five stars … Readers expecting this novel to develop into a savage take on Seoul slum life will be disappointed … [Hwang Sok-Yong] wants to tell a different story altogether. Familiar Things turns out to be less about simple disposal than movement between different worlds … resonant.’

The Daily Telegraph

‘Hwang Sok-yong is one of South Korea's foremost writers, a powerful voice for society's marginalised, and Sora Kim-Russell's translations never falter.’

Financial Times

The Economist

‘In Familiar Things, the great Korean writer embraces the social realities of his country. It is the opposite of the economic miracle that he paints for us here. Beyond simple naturalism, Hwang Sok-yong mixes into the actual, the magic of a popular culture steeped in the spiritual.’

LivresHebdo

‘A great political book, a plea for a country under the boot of a general, a country embroiled in a fierce power struggle, where ideology has been devoured by productivity, where human beings are nothing more than bellies to be filled for the benefit of industrial producers ... Grandma Willow in her dementia rails, “You're despicable! Do you think you live alone here? You men may all disappear, nature will continue to exist!” Let's hope so!’

Critiques Libres

‘Hwang Sok-yong is one of the most read Korean writers in his country, and best known abroad. An activist for democracy and reconciliation with the North, in his books he melds his political fights with the Korean cultural imagination.’

Le Monde

‘Familiar Things is a poignant novel that depicts decay and regeneration … A sense of menace pervades the novel. But the relationship that develops between Bugeye and Baldspot, who he comes to adopt as his younger brother, is heartwarming.’

The Big Issue

‘Hwang Sok-yong is an endearing author. For his perspective on people and things, for the instinctive modesty of his characters as well as his ability to “capture” — to return through fiction — the contemporary history of his country. Even more, to embody it.’

La Croix

‘Reality, fiction and fantasy mix closely, giving his writing unparalleled power. Hwang Sok-yong’s empathy for his heroes is always accompanied by a fierce rage against the powerful.’

Le Monde Diplomatique

‘While it invokes South Korean history, culture, mythology and folklore, this slim novel is unmistakably universal in its reach, contemporary in its appeal, and packs an emotional punch that reverberates long after reading.’

Terry Hong, Booklist

‘As one of the country’s most prominent novelists, Hwang has never shied away from controversy ... With Familiar Things, Hwang turns his attention to the underside of South Korea’s remarkable economic development, namely, the vast underclass it has created.’

John Feffer, Boston Review

‘Hwang’s writing is rich with symbolism, cautionary lessons, and the potential for redemption.’

World Literature Today

‘[A] cautionary tale, both a mirror and a portent for our own world.’

Fionn Mallon, Los Angeles Review of Books

‘Familiar Things walks a perfect path between realism and the supernatural.’

Annie Smith, A Bookish Type

‘Familiar Things is a fine little novel, showing a crushing, grim reality in which the resilient human spirit and imagination makes do.’

CATEGORIES / tags

AUTHOR

Hwang Sok-yong

Hwang Sok-yong was born in 1943 and is arguably Korea’s most renowned author. In 1993, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for an unauthorised trip to the North to promote exchange between artists in the two Koreas. Five years later, he was released on a special pardon by the new president. The recipient of Korea's highest literary prizes, he has been shortlisted for the Prix Femina Etranger and was awarded the Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature for his book At Dusk. His novels and short stories are published in North and South Korea, Japan, China, France, Germany, and the United States. Previous novels include The Ancient Garden, The Story of Mister Han, The Guest, and The Shadow of Arms.

TRANSLATOR

Sora Kim-Russell

Sora Kim-Russell is a poet and translator, originally from California and now living in Seoul, South Korea. She teaches at Ewha Women's University.